Morty's surgery to remove nasal cancer

Since I adopted her in the fall of 2020, Morty has been something of medical miracle. From overcoming a slew of issues after being picked up by animal control (muscle wasting, ear/eye infections, URI, severe anemia, gum rot, a few rescheduled euthanasia dates…) to the multiple surgeries she’s had since being with me, this Tiny Cow is a tank. She’s such a little fighter, and she has gotten through everything so well.

One of the things she had was some dark scabby stuff on her nose, which turned out to be Bowen’s Disease. This is a very early form of superficial skin cancer that, in rare cases, turns into the worse stuff— invasive squamous cell carcinoma. But, Morty being Morty, that’s exactly what her Bowen’s went and did, which left her with an ulcer on the left side of her nose that grew progressively more swollen and bled.

In January of this year, Morty’s wonderful dermatologist performed a laser treatment on the area, a less aggressive treatment that had the potential to stop it in its tracks. While it did indeed heal the ulcer, the squamous cell flared back much faster than expected. Morty now has a new ulcer inside her nostril and the swelling and bleeding continues. There are some photos below that show this a little closer (don't worry-- I have not included any of more graphic ones).

The way forward now is nasal planectomy surgery to remove the cancerous portion of her nose, an aggressive treatment that will save her life. Any treatment at this point would need to be aggressive, with the alternative being something I won’t write about here. We are blessed to live in an area with a renowned soft tissue/reconstructive surgeon who assured me that such a surgery would be worth it (or, as I so eloquently put it, “Is this a stupid idea?”) and could take care of it once and for all.

But it’s health care, and health care is expensive. Morty has had many medical issues over the years, including multiple other surgeries. CareCredit has been such a helpful resource in paying for her medical bills, but three years and many thousands of dollars down the road, I’m finally bested by this one. The time has come to push down my stubbornness (looking at you, my fellow upper Midwesterners) and ask for your help. The range for the CT scan and the nasal planectomy surgery is $4,511.07 - $5,325.57.

Every bit of help, no matter the amount, is enormously appreciated! Regardless of whether you are able to donate, if you could share this with your people, that is also enormously appreciated! This one is a financial doozy, but I can't imagine making any other choice for her. Thank you so very, very much from Morty and me!